FILM DIRECTOR

Hal Needham

1931 - 2013

Photo of Hal Needham

Icon of person Hal Needham

Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983). In his later years, Needham moved out of stunt work, and focused his energy on the world land speed record project. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Hal Needham has received more than 1,280,711 page views. His biography is available in 21 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 20 in 2019). Hal Needham is the 967th most popular film director (down from 829th in 2019), the 6,194th most popular biography from United States (down from 5,395th in 2019) and the 229th most popular American Film Director.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 48.73

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 21

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.76

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.42

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Hal Needhams by language

Over the past year Hal Needham has had the most page views in the with 123,818 views, followed by German (9,374), and Japanese (8,778). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Simple English (97.34%), Swedish (68.21%), and Southern Azerbaijani (62.66%)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Hal Needham ranks 967 out of 2,041. Before him are Spike Jonze, Helmut Käutner, David Miller, John Flynn, Dariusz Wolski, and Danis Tanović. After him are Vladimir Bortko, Damien Chazelle, Tony Kaye, Vatroslav Mimica, Nanni Loy, and Fyodor Khitruk.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1931, Hal Needham ranks 341. Before him are Diana Dors, John Baldessari, Ángel Berni, George Maxwell Richards, Hugh Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton, and Dan Rather. After him are Gordon Willis, Marshall Applewhite, Anatoli Ilyin, Denise Scott Brown, Ibrahim Biogradlić, and Tamara Rylova. Among people deceased in 2013, Hal Needham ranks 297. Before him are Rossella Falk, Chico Hamilton, Ann-Britt Leyman, Manna Dey, Lorenzo Antonetti, and Ingvar Rydell. After him are Imre Nagy, János Starker, Valeri Zolotukhin, Nadezhda Popova, Judit Temes, and Trevor Bolder.

Others Born in 1931

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Others Deceased in 2013

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Hal Needham ranks 6,194 out of 20,380. Before him are Lori Loughlin (1964), Lewis Arquette (1935), James Van Fleet (1892), Laura Innes (1957), Joe Engle (1932), and Jessica Harper (1949). After him are Gates McFadden (1949), Chris Jericho (1970), Michael Hardt (1960), Damien Chazelle (1985), Gray Davis (1942), and Frank Loomis (1896).

Others born in United States

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In United States

Among film directors born in United States, Hal Needham ranks 229. Before him are Matt Reeves (1966), Alexander Mackendrick (1912), Shane Black (1961), Spike Jonze (1969), David Miller (1909), and John Flynn (1932). After him are Damien Chazelle (1985), Gary Ross (1956), Gregg Toland (1904), Hamilton Luske (1903), Christopher McQuarrie (1968), and Harry Beaumont (1888).

American born Film Directors

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Filmography

The Great Race
Director
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.
Jul 1o 19657.2 / 10
Blazing Saddles
Director
A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.
Feb 7o 19747.265 / 10
French Connection II
Director
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
May 18o 19756.777 / 10